


Suddenly, There You Were

by hlnwst



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 09:34:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9998888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hlnwst/pseuds/hlnwst
Summary: Clarke and Lexa have always butted heads. Middle school, high school, college and now they're working in the same office and are paired together for a very important project. They clash plenty, but realise that they actually don't know enough about each other to warrant such discourse.#ClexaWeek2017; Day 1: Enemies to Lovers





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Clexakru!! This is my first official foray into Clexa fanfiction. I love these two :) Hope you enjoy!!  
> This is my submission for Clexa Week Day 1: Enemies to Lovers. Please excuse my poor knowledge of public office and politics. Clearly, I am incapable of less than 5k.
> 
> (Also, it’s 1am. Any mistakes are mine.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the 100 :(

Clarke was ready and waiting for her boss in the boardroom. It was an important day for both of them. The budget had just been approved for the year and they had a big project that they had been working on for the better part of a half a year. She was beyond excited to get a start on making their dream a reality.

“Morning, Clarke.”

“Good morning, Mr. Kane,” Clarke replied with a smile.

Marcus Kane rolled his eyes. “At what point are you going to remember that I’ve known you since you were in diapers?”

Clarke chuckled. “While you and my parents may go way back, I am still your employee and it’s important that my colleagues can see that I’m here because of my own hard work, not because of who I am.”

Marcus frowned. “I am sure that no one here thinks that, Clarke. You have proven yourself over the last three years. Even if I had hired you because of our familial connection, you would still be here on your own merit.”

 _Not everyone seems to think so_ , Clarke thought ruefully, starting a doodle of the planets.

The duo were silent for a moment as Clarke waited for her boss to get himself ready.

“If anyone is giving you trouble, Clarke-“

“No, no, that’s not what I meant by that comment, Mr. Kane. Honestly, it wasn’t.” _Liar_. “I’ve just seen how Wells gets treated in the media and it’s horrible.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate that his name isn’t as respected as it once was.”

Clarke huffed. “Hardly his fault that his dad’s a douche.”

Marcus looked bemused. “A douche that you are going to need to sign off on the relocation of Polis.”

“Don’t remind me,” Clarke groaned. She couldn’t help but grin, though. “I can’t believe that we actually got funding for this.”

“Are you really?” Marcus sat down at the head of the table and smiled. “Your never-say-die attitude convinced the mayor that this project is going to benefit the city for years to come.”

“Decades,” Clarke corrected. “And it will. If we do it right, Polis will become a beacon of hope for those who have lost their way.”

Marcus nodded his approval and his smile widened at someone entering the room. “Ah, Lexa. Glad you could make it.”

Clarke froze, grimacing internally. Of all the people…

“Good morning, Mr. Kane,” the newcomer greeted quietly. “How can I be of assistance today?”

“I swear, between the two of you, I feel more like a Chancellor than a social worker.” Marcus laughed. “Clarke, you know Lexa, right?”

The blonde forced a tight smile onto her face and glanced briefly at the woman standing on the other side of the table. “We’ve met.”

Lexa had the same air of disinterest that she seemed to permanently walk around with. It boiled Clarke’s blood that she thought she was so much better than everyone else.

“Right, now that I have you two present, we can get started.”

_Wait, what?_

“I’m not sure I understand, Mr. Kane,” Lexa queried.

“For the past six months, Clarke and I, along with some other advisors, have been looking to relocate Polis. I know that you are familiar with the centre and its surrounds. We have received sufficient funding from the mayor’s office and need to go through all the legalities of bringing this project to fruition.”

“That sounds wonderful, Mr. Kane, a truly noble cause,” Lexa commented and it sounded to Clarke like her voice was strained. _Interesting_. “I’m afraid I do not understand how I could be of service.”

“Well, I had hoped with your personal attachment to Polis, you may offer invaluable insight into how best to achieve our goals.”

_Aw, shit._

“Uh, if you think that it is best, I shall endeavour to do my best, Mr. Kane.”

Marcus clapped his hands joyfully, startling Clarke. “Excellent. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Mr. Kane, I can handle this myself,” Clarke began, trying to desperately regain control of her project. “My other work will not suffer because of this project.”

“Oh, I have no doubt,” Marcus replied with a wink. “This is, however, a very prominent project. The chances are that this will get some media attention – preferably more favourable attention than what Wells is being subjected to – and if we didn’t utilise Lexa’s knowledge, we would be doing ourselves and this project a huge disservice.”

 _What the hell does Lexa Woods know about Polis?_ Clarke fumed silently. She’d be damned if Commander Lexa was going to swoop in and take credit for all her hard work. The project was _all_ her. Lexa had done nothing and Marcus was giving her praise for something she hadn’t even done?

“Perhaps we should rethink this, Mr. Kane,” Lexa offered. “I am not familiar with this project at all and if Clarke needs help with it-“ _Fuck her. Fucking fuck her._ “-then I am certain there are colleagues more suited to this task than myself.”

 _What a bitch_.

“I want the two of you pioneering this,” Marcus said, his usual jovial disposition becoming serious. “You both have grown up in this town and you know how it works. You both have a lot to bring to the table on this and I want it done right.”

_Fuck my life._

“Understood, Mr. Kane,” Lexa said, and Clarke could tell she was annoyed.

“Clarke?” He looked at her expectantly.

The blonde sighed. “We’ll send you weekly updates.”

“Good. You have exclusive use of this room for as long as you need it.”

“Thank you,” the women chorused before their boss walked out of the door.

For a few moments, there was an icy silence in the room.

“So, how do you want to do this?” 

* * *

 

Lexa Woods could not think of anything worse than being forced to spend days upon days working with Clarke Griffin. It was bad enough that they hadn’t been able to escape each other in middle school, high school, even college. By some cruel twist of fate, they’d even landed up in public office together.

_Fate really hates me._

Granted, they did live in a small town where it was fairly difficult to escape people. Everyone pretty much knew everyone.

 _Why, oh why did I not take that job in Chicago?_ Lexa chided herself as she walked to her own office to grab what she would need for what was certain to be a Monday from hell. It had been the offer of a lifetime, and Lexa had turned it down. Her sister had been pretty pissed, but once she’d heard Lexa’s reasoning, Anya relaxed and had simply told her how proud she was.

On tougher days, Lexa remembered those words and repeated them in her mind, willing her sister’s strong spirit to encourage her to keep going.

Working in public office wasn’t an easy job. It certainly wasn’t easy for Lexa, who had seen the worst side of what happened in a failing system. Her difficult childhood had driven her to prove that she could create her own destiny, that she wasn’t shackled by the community she lived in.

She’d risen above it all.

And yet she’d remained, fighting for kids just like her, so that they would never have to experience the horrors that she had been subjected to.

Taking a deep breath, Lexa gathered what she was going to need – even though she didn’t really know what her role was meant to be – and took a quiet moment to regain composure. Working with Clarke Griffin was certainly going to test her patience.

She’d been testing Lexa’s patience since middle school.

 _Princess Clarke_.

Lexa scoffed. The Griffins were pretty much royalty in their small town. Well off, gorgeous and ridiculously intelligent, the Griffins had everything that _anyone_ could possibly want – and they knew it.

They flaunted their high society lifestyles around town, throwing lavish parties and making a big show of holding fundraisers and galas to help the poorer areas.

_What a joke._

Her community had never seen a cent of that money. The few people that knew what was going on higher up had said that no one had even smelled the profits of those events. They had no idea where the money was.

Abby Griffin had acted so surprised and aghast when Lexa’s sister finally cracked it. Anya had confronted them about funnelling the money back into Jake Griffin’s company – the same company who had hosted the fundraiser, while taking a nice percentage of the tax break with it.

Lexa knew better. And she knew that the Griffins had done something to make Anya suddenly want to leave town. One minute she was there, the next, gone.

Clarke was just as bad as her parents. She was all talk, using her name to get what she wanted, and she knew _nothing_ about living a hard life.

 _I’m curious as to who did the work for this project_ , Lexa mused as she reluctantly headed back to the boardroom. _Was it Raven? Maybe Emori or even Lincoln?_

She guessed that Lincoln probably had done most of it. He was so inherently good like that. He couldn’t turn anyone away.

Of course, it didn’t help that his fiancée’s best friend was one Clarke Griffin.

It was going to be one hell of a week. 

* * *

 

Clarke could hear Lexa enter the boardroom once more, but she was too focused on getting her work space sorted out. She was writing up a checklist on a white board, glancing back down to her notes every now and then. Once that was done, she tacked up a map of the town on another board. She picked up her red marker and started making little circles over potential sites for the new centre.

“You can’t go anywhere on the south side,” she heard Lexa say.

The grip on her white board marker tightened. “And why not?”

“South of the river is gang territory. All of it. Not only will you never get any construction company to build anything there, it’s the most unsafe place in the entire town.”

Clarke spun around, seething. “Let’s get something very clear, Woods. I have worked my ass off to get the budget for this project, and your holier-than-thou attitude is not going to stop me from getting this done.”

Lexa’s brow arched. “You worked your ass off?” She scoffed. “That’ll be the day.”

“Why are you like this?” Clarke asked in exasperation. “I don’t know what you have against me or my family, but it’s ridiculous.”

“Oh, please. All you need to do is whisper your last name and everything lands at your feet,” Lexa snapped.

“That’s not-“

“You have _no_ right to be interfering with Polis.”

That got Clarke’s temper rising. “And why not? Is it exclusive to you?”

“No, of course not. But you have no idea what it’s like in that part of town.”

“And how do you know that?”

Lexa’s eyes narrowed. “Have you lived there?”

“No, I-“

“Have you spent an afternoon in the park?”

“No.”

“Have you ever walked home from school and hoped that you wouldn’t hear a gunfight? Or that you wouldn’t get home to find your house totally ransacked?”

Clarke blinked. “What?”

The brunette on the other side of the room just shook her head. “You say I’m holier-than-thou? You have no idea what real life is like, living up in your golden tower, Clarke Griffin. Whoever did all the leg work on this project deserves a lot of praise, but they should be the ones in this room, not you.” She pointed a long finger towards Clarke. “Not you.”

“You have a lot of nerve coming in here and tearing apart _my_ hard work,” Clarke said in a low, dangerous tone. “Believe it or not, I actually do care about this town – _all_ of it. You cannot hate me or blame me for how I was raised.”

“And yet that courtesy never extended to me.”

“Jesus, Lexa, we barely spoke in school. What the hell gives you the right to judge me like this?”

“You think that this is about school? This has nothing to do with school, Clarke. And the fact that you think that just shows that you really have no clue.”

Clarke didn’t know whether to scream or cry. Lexa Woods just completely frustrated her. She fell into the closest chair and rubbed her hand over her face. She definitely hadn’t expected her Monday morning to be so damn…volatile.

Regardless of the history that she had with Lexa, which wasn’t much, even though they had known each other for a good ten years, Polis was too important to her. She couldn’t let her personal feelings get in the way of doing things right.

She owed it to her father, and she owed it to Aden.

Clarke swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and stood up again. “Look, I know that we haven’t ever really seen eye to eye.” Her voice came out a little strangled and she tried to clear it quietly. “Whether you want to believe it or not, this project is my number one priority. I have done every bit of research and made thousands of phone calls to get us to where we are now. I don’t really care if you hate me, whatever your reasons may be, but for the sake of professionalism, could we act like two adults during this process? Please?”

She didn’t really care if she came off as slightly begging. The project was so important that she was willing to set aside a long-standing feud with a girl that she had sort of known for a while.

Lexa looked at her, expression carefully blank. Finally, after what felt like hours, she spoke, “Very well, Clarke. You have your alliance.” She lifted her chin. “For the duration of this project, we will be equals and you will consult me on everything. If you think that this project is important to you, it pales in comparison to what it would mean for me and the people that I know as family.”

Trying to hide her surprise at Lexa’s powerful words, she simply nodded. “Truce?” she asked, holding her hand out to the brunette.

Once again, Lexa studied her before reaching across the table and shaking her hand in a firm grip. “For now.” 

* * *

 

It didn’t take long for Clarke to bring Lexa up to speed on everything that the project entailed. As Marcus had hinted, Lexa had a very good knowledge of Polis, its surrounding areas and even the families in the area. Clarke was finding the information very useful.

Their first week flew by in a blur of creating a plan of action. Lexa turned out to be a master strategist, something that didn’t actually surprise Clarke. She remembered how a young Lexa had dominated the debates in high school. She’d won the race for Student Body President by a very large margin. That admiration hadn’t lasted very long, when Lexa had made a not-so-subtle remark about the Princess of the school and her white carriage. Clarke loved her Range Rover, and she knew it was a gas guzzler and ridiculously bad for the environment, but she felt safe in it. Still, Lexa’s comments had sparked some nasty comments about her car and had led to some vandalism.

“Clarke, are you listening?”

“Hmmm?” She snapped back to the present. “Sorry.”

Lexa glanced at her watch. “Let’s just get the diary organised for next week and then we can call it a day.”

“Sure thing.” She focused on the task at hand and half an hour later, the two women were getting ready to leave.

“Hey, do you want to grab a drink with some of us?” Clarke asked as Lexa pulled the boardroom door closed behind them.

Lexa wrinkled her nose. “Some of us?”

Clarke struggled not to roll her eyes. “Yes, us. Work people. From the building. We grab a drink at _Dropship_ before heading home.”

“I appreciate the invitation, but I still have work to do.” Lexa continued towards her office instead of turning towards the elevators.

Clarke could only gape in disbelief. Lexa Woods was an infuriating mystery. 

* * *

 

Lexa arrived at work the next Monday morning, complete with two coffees. She greeted her colleagues with a polite smile and headed for the boardroom. She wasn’t surprised to see Clarke already there, going through some files, her brow furrowed adorably.

_Wait._

_What?_

_WHAT?_

Lexa physically shook her head to get rid of the thought. There was absolutely _nothing_ adorable about Clarke Griffin. Nothing.

Nope.

Nothing.

“Morning, Lexa,” Clarke greeted with a small smile. “How was your weekend?”

“Uh, fine. It was fine,” Lexa replied, handing the blonde a cup of coffee. “Um, yours?”

_Pleasantries? Really? Ugh. How mundane._

“It was good, thanks.” She lifted the coffee. “And thank you for this. The coffee machine in the cafeteria is really crap. Almost as bad as hospital coffee.” She took a sip and hummed in satisfaction. “There’s nothing worse than hospital coffee.”

“How would you know?” Lexa asked before her brain could stop herself.

Clarke glanced up at her. “My mom worked a lot of night shifts after my dad died. I would go and keep her company on her rounds a few times a week if I didn’t have too much homework. I think we both just needed to be around each other.”

Lexa, like the rest of the town, had heard the news of Jake Griffin dying. For her, it hadn’t been that big a deal. She did remember how distant Clarke had been from everyone, though. It wasn’t difficult to notice the most popular girl in school suddenly all but disappear.

“I, uh, I’m sorry, Clarke. About your father,” Lexa said quietly. _What the hell was she doing?_ “We never really spoke in school, but I am, uh, sorry.”

_Lame. So fucking lame._

“Thank you, Lexa. That means a lot,” Clarke murmured, twirling the pencil in her hand. “Um, are your parents still around?”

That question was enough to straighten Lexa’s spine and remind her of her boundaries. “No,” she stated simply.

Clarke seemed to read the finality in her tone and dropped the subject. They spent the morning prepping their presentation to Polis, which they were due to give the next day. After a short lunch break, Lexa couldn’t help but smile a little when she returned from a bathroom break to find a fresh cup of coffee from the café on the corner waiting for her. 

* * *

 

The presentation went better than Clarke could have expected. She and Lexa had deviated from their original plan of her taking point. Once Lexa started speaking, Clarke had been mesmerised and a small nod had encouraged Lexa to continue with the entire thing. Indra, the centre director, had also been very impressed. She offered some suggestions, which Clarke and Lexa were happy to take on board. Artigas, Indra’s son, offered to take Clarke on a tour and she didn’t have the heart to tell him that she had already been to the centre many times. It did offer a new perspective, seeing Polis through the eyes of a teenager.

Through the experience of a teenager.

It gave Clarke some things to mull over. She asked Artigas about what he felt the centre needed to make kids and adults want to go there.

After a really good talk with the teenager and armed with a memo on her phone full of ideas, Clarke headed back to Indra’s office. She slowed her walking and leaned against the wall outside the office as raised voices were heard.

“You can’t just turn your back on them, Lexa.”

“I have not!”

“This is the first time that I have seen you in months. How do you think they feel?”

There was a moment of silence. “I am trying to make things better for them, Indra.”

A sigh. “You haven’t learned, have you? You can’t take on the weight of the world, Lexa.”

“I’m not,” she protested. “They just deserve better.”

“Better than you?”

“Better than what I had.”

“Never in all my years have I seen someone shine as brightly as you do, Lexa Woods. I just wish you would let yourself see that.”

“I think you may be going senile.”

Clarke couldn’t help but smile at the teasing tone in Lexa’s voice.

“Careful. I can still take you.”

“I don’t believe I will test that theory.”

“Wise decision, child. Now, I expect you back here on Saturday.”

There was a long pause and Clarke could only picture Lexa wringing her hands. She had a bad habit of doing that when she was thinking hard about something.

_Wait, what?_

Clarke shook her head. Where had that come from.

“I’ll be here,” Lexa said quietly.

“Good. Bring Costia.”

“Uh, she and I…”

“Oh?”

Silence again. Clarke found her curiosity spiking. Who was Costia? And who was she to Lexa?

_Who cares? You don’t, remember._

Right. She didn’t care. She could barely stand Lexa, after all.

Right… 

* * *

 

Clarke tapped her foot restlessly. Normally, she relished her relaxing Saturday mornings. Her mother took Aden out for breakfast every Saturday morning, allowing Clarke some much needed alone time.

Only, she wasn’t relaxed.

She wanted to know what Lexa was doing at Polis.

_Why?_

Exactly. Why the hell did she want to know? It didn’t matter.

After another hour of pretending that she didn’t care, Clarke pulled on some jeans and a hoodie over her sweatshirt and walked out of the house. She texted her mom about the change of plans and climbed into Chariot. She had taken to calling it that after the vandalism had been fixed. Some days, Clarke appreciated the sardonic humour behind Lexa’s comment.

But only some days.

Clarke found herself getting nervous as she approached Polis. Would Lexa be mad? Things had been kind of fine between them for the remainder of the week. They’d scouted three more locations and discussed the possibilities of each with the mayor and head of Parks and Rec. Lexa had even told Clarke to enjoy her drink before they’d parted ways the previous day.

She pulled into the small parking lot, immediately noticing the dirty looks being thrown her way as she climbed out of Chariot.

_Hoo boy._

“Clarke!”

She glanced at the entrance and smiled at the excited look on Artigas’ face.

“Hey, Art,” she greeted. “How are you?”

“I’m great! Lexa’s back today too!”

“Oh, really?” Clarke feigned surprise. “What a coincidence.”

Artigas didn’t waste time pulling Clarke through the building. She glanced around, smiling as they passed room after room that had something going on. Polis was buzzing with activity and Clarke couldn’t wait to grow it even more.

“This is the art room. Lexa said that you’re a really good drawer,” Artigas said, his smile big.

“Lexa said that?” Clarke asked, her voice a little high.

Artigas nodded. He pulled her into the small room and Clarke had to smile at the familiar smell of paint. Supplies were stacked against every wall possible to have enough space for desks that were nowhere near big enough for an art room.

“Clarke?”

She turned to the entrance and smiled in confusion. “Lincoln?”

“What are you doing here?” he chuckled in amusement, giving her a brief hug.

“Oh, I was bored at home and thought I’d see what this place looks like on the weekends,” Clarke half-fibbed.

“Pretty different, huh?” Lincoln murmured, looking around the room.

“Linc, are we gonna paint today?” Artigas asked.

“Yeah, we might be able to,” Lincoln replied, glancing at the supplies. “We’ll have to see what we have, Art.”

That sentence just about broke Clarke’s heart. For years, she had taken for granted the fact that she had everything at her disposal, even something as miniscule (in her world) as art supplies. Polis was a place for kids and adults to feel safe and to partake in activities that would make them valuable to society. They could learn new skills and really feel like part of a community.

“Clarke, are you okay?” Lincoln asked, his brow furrowed.

The blonde wiped her eyes, realising that she had unwittingly started crying. “Um, yeah. I’m fine. I just…I’m realising how easy I had it.”

Lincoln smiled softly and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Most of the kids that come through these doors have had a tough life. People like you are helping to change that.”

“Thanks, Linc,” Clarke sniffled.

A sharp whistle pierced the air and a loud cheer erupted. Artigas whooped in delight and dashed out of the art room. Lincoln chuckled while Clarke was just utterly confused.

“Come on. I’ll show you the real reason this place is so full on a Saturday.”

Clarke followed Lincoln, eager to see what lay ahead. She congratulated herself on a good decision to visit Polis that morning.

She stepped outside and her mouth dropped open.

_Quite possibly one of the best decisions I have ever made._

_Oh, shut up._

Lexa Woods, dressed in camo pants and a black tank top, was walking in front of a long line of children, all standing to attention.

“Good morning, troops!” She heard Lexa call out.

“Good morning, Commander.”

_So that’s where the nickname comes from._

“It has been a while. I expect you all are weak once more.”

Clarke’s eyebrows lifted. Harsh.

“No, Commander!” twenty-odd kids shouted back.

“We shall see.”

Lexa stood to one side and led the kids through some hardcore drills that made Clarke tired even just _watching_ them. Lexa pushed them hard, no matter how old they were and Clarke had to admire their resilience. When a kid did fall back or stumble, Lexa was quick to kneel next to them and whisper some words into their ear. Within a few moments, they were back up and doing the drills with a renewed energy.

Clarke looked around and saw adults – parents, she assumed – all watching the exercise with smiles on their faces.

 _This is something really special_ , she determined. _People here look up to her. They respect her._

Clarke found herself wondering if she had ever really bothered to find out who Lexa Woods was. 

* * *

 

After ten minutes of commanding her little troops, Lexa had realised how much she missed them. She missed picking them up when they faltered, she missed seeing the determined looks on their faces, and she missed the incredible sense of pride that flowed through her. Indra was right. It had been far too long.

“Relay teams!” she barked.

Within twenty seconds, five teams were set up.

“Flagpole and back, full sprint.” She held the whistle to her lips and blew.

The crowd around them started cheering and it made Lexa smile. She glanced at the parents and one familiar pair of blue eyes caused the smile on her face to freeze.

_Fuck._

What the hell was Clarke doing there? She wasn’t meant to find out how deeply Lexa’s personal connection to Polis went. During their two weeks working together, Lexa had successfully managed to deflect any questioning headed down that line.

Jaw clenched, Lexa straightened her back and awaited the outcomes of the relay team. She continued through the drills as she would normally, pushing the older kids to be that much better.

She never taught them how to fight, or combat of any kind. It was all core strength training, building fitness and stamina. She figured that was why the parents allowed their kids to partake, even the younger ones.

As she set the kids off for their next relay, she subtly glanced to where she’d seen Clarke before and wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that the blonde was gone. 

* * *

 

Clarke worried her bottom lip as she awaited Lexa’s arrival on Monday morning. She wasn’t sure if she was going to get the angry Lexa she’d become used to for so many years, or the passionate and strong Lexa that she’d come to know over the last few weeks.

As soon as Lexa had spotted her in the crowd, her reaction had prompted Clarke’s quick departure. That look had told Clarke a lot. She had encroached on Lexa’s space. Polis was Lexa’s domain, her stronghold. Clarke was an outsider and maybe not as welcome as she had initially thought.

What she had seen on Saturday had given her some really good ideas for the design of the new building. She just hoped that Lexa would be willing to hear them.

Familiar heels clicked down the hallway and Clarke held her breath. She was too worried to realise that she had memorised the way Lexa walked.

“Good morning, Clarke,” Lexa greeted as she walked in. She handed Clarke a cup of coffee.

“Uh, m-morning. Good morning, Lexa.” _Jesus, get it together._

“Is everything alright?” the brunette enquired.

Clarke frowned. “Yeah, I guess.”

“If you are uncertain about that, perhaps something is the matter?”

“Maybe. I, uh, I just want to make sure that we’re okay.”

Lexa looked up at that. “What does that mean?”

“Well, you obviously have a lot of history with Polis and that’s awesome. I mean, not because of the fact that you had to go there – not that it’s bad to go there, obviously.” Clarke cringed. “It was clear to me that people respect you there. Not only at Polis, but in the community. That’s something special, Lexa.”

Clarke kept a careful eye on her colleague. Lexa swallowed hard and nodded sharply.

“Polis is special.”

“You make it special, Lexa.”

She scoffed and sat down. “I’m no one special.”

“Your accomplishments would state otherwise.”

“Are you saying that my strength of character is based on what I have achieved in my life?”

_What?_

“I didn’t say that, Lexa.”

“Then say what you mean, Clarke.”

_Where the hell is this coming from? Maybe she actually is mad._

“I’m trying to! It’s clear that Polis is important to you, but you are just as important to Polis, if not more so. I wanted to apologise for overstepping. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable in any way on Saturday.”

“Do not flatter yourself by thinking that your presence affected me whatsoever.”

_Don’t rise, don’t rise._

“Okay, fine. Noted.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

Clarke rolled her eyes to herself and stared hard at her laptop screen, adding in the ideas that she had come up with over the weekend.

“What are you doing?”

Clarke tried to ignore the accusatory tone accompanying the question. “I thought up some expansions to the creative block for the new design.”

“We don’t have the budget for expansions, Clarke.”

“I know that. I’m going to talk to my mother and see if she can-“

“If she can what? Finally give up the money that she owes Polis? Masquerade theft as charity?” Lexa spat out.

_Whoa._

_Don’t rise, don’t-_

_Fuck that shit._

“What the hell did you just say?” Clarke asked, barely keeping her anger at bay.

“Use some of that stolen money to go and see an audiologist,” Lexa replied with a smirk.

_Nope. Nope. This bitch is going down._

Clarke stood up. “Explain what you mean instead of vaguely insulting me and then pretending that I’m the idiot when I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Lexa rose out of her chair too. “Tell me, Clarke, were you coached on your acting ability? Because I have to say, the lost and confused look is quite convincing.”

“Lexa, for _fuck’s_ sake, will you please just tell me what you’re talking about?”

Lexa laughed in disbelief. “Wow. You’re going to actually stand there and pretend that you know nothing about the two million dollars that was meant for Polis but somehow vanished into your father’s company?”

Clarke bristled. “Never insinuate that my father was a thief. He was the most generous man I have ever known.”

“And exactly what counts as generosity to a princess? A white Range Rover instead of a green one?”

She knew Lexa was trying to get a rise out of her. In the short time they had worked together, Clarke had developed a strong will against doing that. As a result, their work on the project had flourished.

That could all be going to hell, though…

“What two million dollars are you talking about?”

“Stop playing dumb, Clarke. It’s an insult to both if us because you’re not actually stupid.”

 _Deep breath_. “Lexa, what two million dollars are you talking about?” She tried again.

Lexa almost growled. “I’m talking about the two million dollars supposedly raised by your father’s company four years ago at a fundraiser. I’m talking about the whereabouts of that two million dollars. It was meant to go to Polis, but instead found its way into your father’s company’s bank account!”

“What?” Clarke whispered. “That… How…”

“You Griffins are not infallible,” Lexa sneered. “My sister found out about your secrets and exposed you. Instead of admitting to it, you just blamed it on an accounting error and forced my sister’s boss to have her transferred to another state!”

Clarke’s head was spinning and she fell back in her chair. What the hell was happening? Four years ago? She didn’t remember any fundraiser four-

_Oh._

_Fuck._

“Wow. Speechless. Can’t say I’m surprised. Did you think that I would just forget about it, Clarke? Polis was my home and that money could have made a real difference.”

“Lexa, I don’t…” Clarke couldn’t even finish her sentence. She honestly couldn’t think of what to think, let alone say.

She knew someone who would know. Rising so far out of her chair that she almost lost her balance, Clarke made a beeline for her boss’ office. She was going to get some damn answers.

* * *

 


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very belated second part. Thank you for all the attention :) Enjoy!
> 
> Any mistakes are mine.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own The 100 :(

Lexa smirked at the look on Clarke’s face. She wasn’t fooled by the dazed and confused routine. Obviously, the blonde princess hadn’t expected her to know. She probably hadn’t even made the connection between her and Anya. They did have different last names, after all.

Suddenly, Clarke was on her feet and striding out of the room with purpose. Lexa rolled her eyes. Typical princess dramatics.

_Wait. What if she’s going to be really childish and tell on me or something?_

She wouldn’t put it past Clarke to be so petty so she quickly turned out of the room and walked down the hallway to Marcus Kane’s office. The door was already open, Clarke having clearly just barged in.

_Unbelievable. Just because they’re family friends she thinks that she can do what she wants. I bet she didn’t even interview for her job here. Griffins and their connections._

She scoffed and stood next to the door, waiting for the whining and sobbing.

Only, it didn’t come. Instead, Lexa was the one that was surprised.

* * *

Clarke didn’t even bother knocking on Marcus’ door. She pushed it open and let it bang against the wall.

“Clarke?” Marcus frowned. “What’s the matter?”

“Did you know about the fundraiser thrown by my dad’s company four years ago?”

Marcus blinked, but Clarke knew him well enough to know that his masked surprise was just a way for him to formulate an answer.

“Do _not_ bullshit with me right now, Marcus. If I find out that you had anything to do with this, I-“

“Okay, just calm down-”

“Calm down? You want me to calm down? I just found out that _someone_ embezzled _two million dollars_ through my father’s company!”

Marcus stood up. “Just close the door and-“

“No! You’re going to tell me what happened, and you’re going to tell me now!”

Marcus sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “The intentions were genuine. Your mother wanted to raise the money after…you know, and Thelonious came up with the idea for the company to throw a fundraiser.”

“Fucking Jaha,” Clarke seethed. “Was my mother involved in this?”

“No, no,” Marcus assure her quickly. “No, she had no idea.”

“What a clusterfuck. Where is the money now?”

“You’d have to ask Thelonious.”

“How was this kept from me?”

Marcus looked at her with a soft gaze. “Clarke, that was such a difficult time for you. Thelonious thought he had gotten away with it.”

“But you knew,” Clarke whispered, hurt. “You’re like family, Marcus. How could you betray us like that?”

Marcus opened his mouth and closed it again. He hung his head. “Greed, Clarke. A man’s greatest weakness.”

Clarke wiped away the tears that were readily falling down her cheeks. “You are dead to me. I don’t want you anywhere near my house, my mother or my son. Are we clear?”

She waited until she got a nod before turning on her heel and walking out. She halted when she saw Lexa standing against the wall.

“Clarke, I-“

“Guess you got more than you bargained for, huh?” Clarke choked out, desperately holding the tears at bay. “I hope you’re happy now, Lexa.”

Only stopping to grab her phone and bag from the boardroom, the distraught blonde barrelled through people to get out of the building as quickly as possible.

 

 

* * *

 

Clarke didn’t know.

She had no idea.

Well, not anymore. Lexa had seen pretty well to that.

“Fuck,” she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.

Things had escalated way beyond what she had anticipated. Maybe Clarke actually was innocent. Clearly, there was a lot about Clarke that Lexa didn’t know.

A son?

A _son_?

Clarke Griffin was a mother?

But how? Who? When?

As Lexa slowly walked back to the boardroom, she flashed back to the look on Clarke’s face when she’d walked out of Marcus’ office.

_What have I done?_

All the anger that she’d held towards the Griffins for years… Could that anger have been completely misplaced? Could Thelonious Jaha have been the real bad guy the whole time?

_Shit._

Lexa grabbed her phone off the table and dialled a number that she hadn’t dared dial in several months. It rang five times before someone answered.

“Hey, it’s me,” Lexa began. “I have… I need to ask you something.”

* * *

Clarke took a long drink from the bottle of vodka in her hand, wincing at the taste. She hadn’t had any hard liquor in almost five years. The events of the morning had warranted something considerably stronger than her usual non-alcoholic beer.

A watery laugh escaped her. What a joke her life had become. A mother at twenty, and a family scandal to the tune of two million dollars, embezzled through her father’s company.

“I just keep racking up the good decisions,” she muttered. “Fucking Jaha.”

She knew she needed to get more of the facts, but at that moment, she felt like she couldn’t trust anyone. Not Marcus, not Wells, not even her mother.

And sure as hell not Lexa.

“Fucking bitch,” Clarke choked out, a few tears escaping. She wasn’t sure why, but the fact that Lexa had been the one to divulge this huge secret had made it hurt a lot more. Or maybe it was the way she’d delivered it…

Clarke shook her head, feeling it swim a little before settling. Her gaze lifted to the family portrait hanging over the fireplace in their living room. Her bottom lip trembled.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I messed everything up. I should have been here. I should’ve…”

_I should have not disappeared out of the country to have my baby._

The shame ran over Clarke in waves. She’d made so many bad decisions. She thought she’d finally started rectifying her mistakes by focusing on building a bigger and better Polis, but no. She couldn’t even manage that without fucking it up.

Two loud knocks echoes through the bottom floor of the house.

“This had better be one of Mom’s Amazon deliveries,” Clarke muttered, having the sense to leave the vodka bottle on the table and shuffled to the front door.

When she opened it, a dry chuckle left her mouth. “Wow. Here to kick me while I’m down?”

Lexa actually looked apologetic, but Clarke didn’t believe her for a second. Anyone who clearly harboured that amount of hate for the Griffin name, yet could handle working so closely with one for two weeks had to have some serious issues.

“May I come in?” Lexa asked quietly.

“Why don’t you give me the salt already?” Clarke asked dryly.

The brunette looked at her in confusion.

“So that I can rub it into the open wound.” Clarke made the motion of hitting cymbals on a drum set. “I know, I’m hilarious.” She leaned against the doorframe. “Just get whatever words you want out. Pretty sure nothing else will surprise me now.”

“Clarke, I…” Lexa faltered and the blonde noticed that, for the first time, she was _nervous_.

Why the hell would Lexa be nervous after the brutal tongue lashing she’d dealt? “Just spit it out already. Jesus. I’m not getting any younger.”

“I wanted to…a-apologise,” Lexa murmured.

Clarke blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Yes, I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way that I acted earlier. I…I thought that I knew what had happened, but I guess…”

“You guessed wrong, Lexa,” Clarke snapped. “Apology _not_ accepted.”

She slammed the door in her co-worker’s face (or was it ex-co-worker?) and trudged back to the living room. She’d just picked up the bottle of vodka before two loud knocks on the front door echoed throughout the house again.

Clarke groaned out loud. Why couldn’t Lexa take a hint? At least she’d gotten what she wanted. There was no way Clarke was going back to work for Marcus. The only thing she really wanted to do was get drunk and cry.

She really wanted to cry.

Two more knocks.

“Fuck off, Lexa!” she yelled.

“Clarke, I’m not leaving until we’ve spoken.”

The blonde rolled her eyes and took a long drink from the bottle. She knew that Lexa was stubborn, but the Commander was about to find out just how stubborn Clarke Griffin could be. She would be every bit the spoiled princess that Lexa was so sure she was.

An hour later, Clarke was drunk and Lexa was still knocking on the door every five minutes. Clarke stumbled towards the large oak door and yanked it open.

“Take a fucking hint,” she slurred, gesturing vaguely to the gates a few yards down the driveway. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

Lexa blinked as she took in Clarke’s appearance. She knew she looked terrible, but that was because she felt terrible. And drunk. She was drunk.

Drunk Clarke gave even less fucks than stubborn teenage Clarke.

“Clarke, I understand your trepidation, but I really would like us to talk about what happened,” Lexa said in that measured tone that drove Clarke mad because it sounded like she was just so unaffected by everything.

“What happened was that you told me family stole money from your home. I didn’t know so it was a bit of a shock, but hey. I’ll survive.” Clarke fired an imaginary gun at Lexa. “I’m a survivor. Oh, wait. No, I’m a princess, right? I can just pay someone to feel embarrassed for me, right? Someone else can feel the humiliation, betrayal and hurt. Does that sound about right? Since, obviously, I have no accountability.”

Lexa sighed. “For an intoxicated person, you have a remarkable grasp of the English language.”

Clarke glared at her. “Fuck you, Lexa. You got your wish. You’ll never have to see me again. I won’t go back to working for that two-faced liar. Since my family has wronged you so badly, maybe I’ll convince my mom to move somewhere else. Wouldn’t want the relocation of Polis to be tainted by the wicked Griffin family, would we?”

“Clarke, that’s not what I want.”

The blonde barked out a laugh. “Of course. Silly me. You’ve just hated me all your life, dreaded working with me because you actually do want me around.” She drained the last of the vodka. “I may be drunk, but I’m not stupid. You’ve never liked me and now you don’t have to even see me ever again. Win-win for you.”

Lexa pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know that I fucked up, okay? I really want to apologise properly, perhaps when you’re less…”

“Less what? Drunk? I didn’t realise you’d become my keeper. You did apologise and I don’t accept it. Now do both of us a favour and get off my father’s property.” Clarke scoffed. “Or don’t, since it could actually not even belong to my father.”

“Clarke,” Lexa whispered, stepping into the doorway. “I didn’t want you to question-“

“Then why the fuck did you say anything in the first place?” Clarke yelled, pushing Lexa’s shoulder roughly.

“I thought you knew,” she argued.

“You think so little of me that I would knowingly work in social welfare, spearhead a project featuring the very centre that my father’s company _stole_ from? Wow. Let’s just go back to actively avoiding each other, Lexa. It was less painful that way.”

Clarke went to close the door, but Lexa’s arm shot out to stop it.

“Go away.”

“No.”

“You have no right to be here!”

“You’re right. I don’t. But I will not leave here without sorting this out,” Lexa stated firmly.

Clarke’s head swam. “Why? There’s nothing to sort out! You don’t even like me, Lexa! Why should it matter if you destroyed my family’s legacy? Why should it matter to you that I don’t have a job and now I have to rely on my parents’ money to help me look after my son? Why should anything that I do or say matter to you? Huh?”

Clarke’s seething anger was keeping her surprisingly sharp considering that she’d finished an entire bottle of vodka.

“You said that I am special, that I make Polis special,” Lexa began after swallowing hard. Her hand still held the door open. “Clarke, you make Polis special too. You’re the reason that they have something new to look forward to. The kids couldn’t shut up about you on Saturday. Especially Artigas. He told me about everything that you envisioned for the new centre and Clarke, that’s because _you_ are special. No one else has stepped up to take on this project, even though it’s been needed for years. I mean, I wanted to. I wanted to be the one, but I…couldn’t. I…” Lexa faltered and looked down.

Clarke felt oddly sympathetic. She knew very little about Lexa – evidently – but what she did know was that the brunette never divulged anything that made her seem weak. She looked almost vulnerable.

_Close the door, Clarke. She’s just playing you._

Part of her believed that. Lexa had harboured such resentment for what appeared to be a very long time so why would she trade that for an apology?

“I grew up in Polis. It was my home from when I was twelve. I even tried sleeping there, but Indra warned me that I would just make things worse if I didn’t stick to the rules of the group home.”

Clarke blinked. Lexa was opening up…

To her.

_What?_

“I promised that I would be better for everyone there, that I would fight for them. I worked hard and kept out of trouble as much as I could. I gained the respect and trust of the adults in my community so when I started working at social welfare, they knew they had someone that was truly looking out for them. I know that I can be harsh and dogmatic, but it’s how I survived.”

_Tell me about it._

“Maybe life should be about more than surviving,” Clarke muttered, looking down at the bottle in her hand. “Don’t we deserve better than that?”

There was a brief pause before Lexa responded.

“Maybe we do.”

Clarke looked up and her breath caught in her throat. Lexa was staring at her, a curious sparkle in eyes she hadn’t even realised shone such a deep green.

_Breathe._

“Clarke…”

Lexa stepped closer to her and Clarke felt the empty bottle slip from her fingers. It dropped onto the carpet safely, but her heart was racing at the way Lexa was looking at her.

“Clarke, I am so sorry.”

The blonde took a step back when Lexa took another towards her.

“Lexa, don’t,” she whispered.

“I am sorry, and you need to hear it. I’m sorry for judging you before I even knew you. I was so blinded by my hatred and mistrust that I didn’t even give you a chance. I assumed things and that was a grave mistake on my part. As a result of my error in judgement, you have been irrevocably hurt and betrayed, and that is something that I can only apologise for as many times as you’ll let me.”

Clarke just shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes and blurred her vision. Lexa wasn’t allowed to sound so heartfelt and genuine. Clarke couldn’t in good conscience hate her if she was that genuine. She was reminded of how Lexa spoke during their presentation at Polis; her speech at that moment had that same passion and weight, albeit in a softer tone.

“I didn’t know, Lexa,” Clarke sobbed. “I didn’t know.”

“I know that. I know that now. And there are a thousand ways that I could have told you the truth, but I chose the one way that would hurt you most because I refused to believe that you were innocent. I-“ she choked off and looked down. Clarke could see her struggling.

“This is a mess,” she eventually sighed, feeling incredibly drained. The alcohol was giving her a headache, or maybe it was the tension.

“Lexa, I think that maybe you should go,” Clarke whispered.

Lexa looked up at her again, and Clarke was truly surprised to see tears hovering on the edges of her lashes. She had never, in over ten years, seen Lexa Woods even close to crying.

“Come back tomorrow morning,” Clarke said before she talked herself out of what was likely a very bad idea. “We’ll talk then.”

Lexa nodded. “Thank you, Clarke.”

They looked at each other for a few moments before Lexa seemed to snap out of it and cleared her throat.

“Tomorrow,” she confirmed, walking backwards to the door.

“Tomorrow,” Clarke repeated with a slight nod.

She sure as hell needed the hours to prepare herself.

* * *

Lexa stood outside the oak door that she’d almost memorised the previous day with two cups of coffee in her hands. Why she’d thought that a cup of coffee from a corner café would work as some kind of peace offering when Clarke most likely had much better coffee in her house, Lexa didn’t know.

She didn’t know a lot, apparently.

She bit her lip as she remembered how broken Clarke had looked the previous day. She was destroyed. Lexa had done that. In that moment, she’d realised that she had no idea who Clarke Griffin was. She’d built up an idea of her in her mind from the little that she’d seen in school and at work. Granted, the embezzlement had all but painted a pair of devil horns onto the Clarke Griffin in her head, but Lexa really had assumed the worst.

Her own anger and jealousy had blinded her to the person that Clarke really was. She’s spent the night thinking long and hard about all of their interactions from as far back as she could remember. Only once had Clarke ever actively been rude to her and that was when she’d (rightly) accused Lexa of having her car vandalised. While Lexa hadn’t done the damage herself, a few unsavoury acquaintances from the centre were more than happy to mess up a rich girl’s car.

Other than that, it had been Lexa that had initiated the rude remarks, the silent competitions, the judging.

In short, she’d fucked up.

Anya had explained that Clarke hadn’t had anything to do with the fundraiser, that she and a friend had left on an impromptu trip to Canada. She also came clean that Jaha had been the one to forcefully request her transfer, not the Griffins.

Four years previously, Lexa hadn’t given Anya the chance to explain, simply turning her confusion about everything into hatred for the Griffins and everything they stood for.

Suddenly, the door in front of her opened. Lexa’s eyes widened.

“Raven Reyes?”

“Lexa Woods.” Raven’s tone was anything but welcoming. “What are you doing here?”

“I, um, Clarke invited me to come over this morning to…talk.”

“To talk?” Raven folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the door frame. Lexa briefly noticed how her left leg was secured in a brace.

“Yes.”

“Clarke asked you to come over at seven-thirty to talk?”

Lexa felt her neck flush. She didn’t like getting the third degree from someone she’d had even less dealing with in high school. “She didn’t specify a time, but this is the normal time that we start work.”

“Ah, work,” Raven stated, arching an eyebrow. “You two have been working together recently, right?”

_Is Raven…? Is she jealous?_

“Yes, we have. We’re working on relocating the Polis centre.”

Raven just nodded and Lexa shifted her weight from one foot to the other, refusing to allow herself to be intimidated by the woman standing in front of her.

“Raven,” a voice called from inside.

Clarke stood at the bottom of the stairs, her arms folded across her chest.

“Hey.” Raven’s voice took on a very different tone. It made Lexa arch an eyebrow.

“You’re gonna be late for work.” Clarke chastised.

Raven walked over and dropped a light kiss on Clarke’s cheek. It seemed a natural movement and Lexa couldn’t explain how her stomach pulled lightly at the gesture.

“What are they gonna do? I’m the boss.” Raven grinned.

Clarke rolled her eyes and angled her head down the hall.

“Fine. Jeez.”

Once Raven had disappeared, Lexa felt that it was safe to step inside the house.

“Good morning,” she greeted quietly.

“Morning,” Clarke replied shortly. “Um, would you be okay waiting in the back reception room? It’s just through the living room.”

Lexa looked to where Clarke was pointing. “Yeah, sure.” She held out the coffee. “I, uh, realise that you probably have coffee here, but…”

Clarke just looked at her for a moment and the way her blue eyes seemed to dig deeper and deeper into her chest, reminded Lexa of a very scary thought that she’d had the previous day while they were arguing.

For a very brief, very fleeting moment, she’d wanted to kiss Clarke Griffin.

That on its own brought a huge set of problems that Lexa wasn’t remotely ready to deal with.

“Thanks,” Clarke said, taking the coffee from her. “Sorry about Raven, by the way. She’s just overprotective.”

“She loves you,” Lexa replied simply.

“Well, yeah. She can be a bit much, though. So, um…yeah.” Clarke took a sip of coffee and hummed appreciatively. “Uh, just head through there. I shouldn’t be too long.”

Lexa nodded and followed Clarke’s directions. The rooms were beautifully decorated. The first thing that Lexa noticed as she walked through the living room was the beautiful portrait above the fireplace of the three Griffins. They looked so happy and it made the guilt churn in Lexa’s gut even more that she had tarnished the memory that Clarke had of her father.

Sighing, she sipped her own coffee and headed through to the next room. It looked a lot more lived in and comfortable than the living room. Lexa put her bag down and got comfortable on one of the sofas. She went through a few emails while she waited for Clarke.

“Hi.”

She looked up and froze.

“Um, hi.”

A little boy of around three or four was grinning at her.

“I’m Aden.” He held out his hand, which Lexa felt compelled to shake.

“I’m Lexa.”

“I’m four.”

“I’m…not four,” Lexa replied with a chuckle.

Aden giggled and Lexa saw that he was missing a front tooth. She immediately knew that he had to be Clarke’s son. If it wasn’t the blue eyes, wavy blonde hair or rosy cheeks, it was that giggle.

“What you got der?” Aden asked and Lexa had never thought that a mispronunciation of the ‘th’ sound could be more adorable.

“Oh, I just got some coffee on my way here.”

“Can I have some?”

_Uh oh._

“I think you’ll have to ask your mom about that one,” Lexa said, biting her lip.

“And Mom says absolutely not,” Clarke announced, walking into the room. “Have you brushed your teeth, mister?”

Aden smiled wide, showing his teeth. “All clean, Momma.”

“Good boy.” Clarke leaned down to kiss his head. “Would you mind sitting in your art corner for a bit? I need to talk to Lexa about a few things.”

“Okay. Bye, Lexa!” Aden waved and Lexa just smiled dopily and waved back.

Once Aden had disappeared into a colourful area in the corner of the room, Lexa dropped her hand and flushed.

“I’m sorry if he bombarded you with questions,” Clarke said, surprising Lexa by sitting down on the other end of the same sofa. “He’s at that age where his curiosity is virtually insatiable.”

“He’s amazing, Clarke. And he looks exactly like you.”

Clarke smiled softly as she looked over to where he was busying himself. “Yeah, he does.”

“Um, I did want to apologise if I came over too early,” Lexa began.

“No, I expected you at this time,” Clarke replied. “You’re a creature of habit, Lexa. It’s not difficult to figure out that you like routine.”

“Uh, yeah. I do.”

Clarke sighed and they just looked at each other for a long while. Lexa wasn’t sure what she was meant to do, even though she’d had a clear game plan in her mind on the drive over to Clarke’s house.

“I’m going to talk to Jaha,” Clarke eventually said, keeping her tone low enough for Lexa to hear, but not drawing Aden’s attention.

Lexa raised an eyebrow. “Is that wise?”

“As much as you may not believe it, I actually do possess a moral compass, Lexa, and what he did was wrong. He and Marcus won’t get away with what they did.”

“That’s not what I-“ Lexa tried, but Clarke cut her off quickly.

“Let’s not pretend that you’ve done a one-eighty in the last twenty-four hours, shall we? Yes, you messed up. Badly. And now you feel guilty so you’re trying to ease your conscience by making things okay between us. Or whatever.”

“Partly true,” Lexa countered. “Yes, I do feel guilty about how I said what I said. But I don’t feel guilty for saying it, Clarke. I thought you knew. Could I have delivered the news better? Absolutely. There is no question about that. And for that, I am truly sorry.” Lexa paused and let her sincere statement sink in by holding Clarke’s gaze. “I wouldn’t call this a one-eighty. You’ve only seen a very small part of my personality and even though I rarely show that I care, it doesn’t mean that I don’t, or that it’s out of character for me.”

Clarke lifted an eyebrow. “Okay. I’m not rejecting your apology this time, but I’m not sure that I can accept it just yet.”

“Fair enough.”

A short silence settled between them, their eyes locked for the duration.

“I have all of my sister’s research notes,” Lexa offered after a while. “I brought them in case you want to read through them.”

She could see Clarke clenching her jaw. She let her formulate whatever it was that was obviously churning in her mind.

“Why do you hate me so much, Lexa?” she eventually all but whispered.

 _Whoa._ She hadn’t been expecting that. But she did have an answer.

“Jealousy,” she said simply. “You had everything you could want, or what I thought you would want. You lived in a big house, had two parents who loved you and didn’t have to worry about getting home safely.”

Clarke furrowed her brow and looked down at her hands. “That wasn’t fair of you to put a label like that on me. You didn’t know me.”

“I know. And it was wrong of me. I should have given you the benefit of showing me who you were without my stupid preconceived ideas.”

“You should have. But, in all honesty, I didn’t think very highly of you either, Lexa.”

“Well, I’m not exactly the most approachable of people.”

Clarke just shook her head. “This isn’t about you being closed off. I hated you because of what you were able to do, regardless of your background. You were first for everything. It was like there was nothing you couldn’t do, and do it well.” She let out a brief laugh. “It was intimidating. You were intimidating. And my default setting is that I get defensive when people attack me.”

“Can’t blame you for that.”

“You did,” Clarke countered.

Lexa nodded. “I did. That was my own short-sightedness. I have no idea who you are, Clarke. I thought I did, but I really don’t. And I’m sorry about that.”

“Well, you do know one thing about me.”

“What’s that?”

“You know how I like my coffee.”

Lexa let a small smile creep onto her face. “You always let me drive.”

Clarke lifted a shoulder. “You like control. It’s not that big a deal for someone else to drive me somewhere if we’re both going to the same place.”

“It kinda is for me, though,” Lexa murmured, feeling her muscles contract as her defensive default setting kicked in. She was trying to fight her body’s own defences, and it wasn’t easy.

Clarke just nodded.

“And you let me take point on the presentation at Polis,” Lexa added.

“Like I was going to stop you. You were on a roll! Besides, you were the best public speaker at school. I’m good, but not as good as you.”

“I envy your self-assurance,” Lexa blurted out.

“Well, I must be doing a good job of acting assured, because I sure as hell don’t feel it.”

“Why not?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Clarke bit her lip and looked at Lexa before answering. The brunette could tell she was weighing up the pros and cons of the conversation they were probably veering towards.

“I’m a young mother, Lexa,” she eventually said. “I second guess myself every day if I’m doing the right thing. I wonder if me working is going to affect my relationship with Aden. I wonder if relocating Polis is going to help me deal with everything or if it’s just a hopeless cause. And now… now I wonder how much of my life has been a lie. I wonder if my mom knew about the embezzlement. I wonder if she helped hide it.”

Lexa’s chest lurched when she saw two tears run down Clarke’s face. She made quick work to brush them away, her glance flittering over to where her son was still playing.

“Lexa, I’m really tired of hating you, but I don’t know if I could ever forgive you for telling me what you did. I don’t know if I can stop hating you for ruining my father’s memory. Arkadia was - is - his company and his legacy. The embezzlement may have happened after he died, but it was through his company, and that has forever tarnished a good man's name.”

_And there it is._

“When I walked in and saw that picture of you above the fireplace, that was the first thought that crossed my mind,” Lexa replied, wringing her hands. “I knew that you wouldn’t be able to forgive me for that and, Clarke, that’s okay. I don’t expect your forgiveness. I would like for you to accept my apology because I can’t change what I’ve already said and done in the past, but I can control what I do and say in the future.” She took a deep breath. “And Clarke, I really would like to get to know you. The real you. The Clarke Griffin that I carelessly brushed aside in lieu of my own twisted version. I know our history is rocky, at best, but if we can somehow find a way to move past that or forget it and get this project done, then I think we’ll be able to do a lot more than possibly rebuild a working relationship.”

Lexa glanced up nervously, wanting to see Clarke’s reaction, but also dreading it.

Once again, the pair found themselves staring at one another for an extended period.

“I can’t go back to working for Marcus Kane,” Clarke said firmly.

“Okay. We could set up an office at my place?” Lexa offered.

“Could we do it here, if it’s not too out of the way for you? That way, I can still be with Aden when Raven and my mom are at work.”

Lexa nodded. “Yeah, that’s totally fine with me.”

“Okay.” Clarke took a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Lexa hedged cautiously.

Clarke stuck out a hand. “I’m Clarke Griffin. I’m twenty-four and I have a crazy, energetic, wonderful son. He’s almost four, but he tells everyone that he is already four. I recently found out that my family has a bit of a sordid secret and I’m still dealing with that. I want to do something that matters with my life. I want to make a difference. I’m hoping that the Polis project will help in starting that dream for me.”

Lexa took the outstretched hand and smiled. “Hi. I’m Lexa Woods. Also twenty-four. I’m a bit of a closed off control freak. I didn’t have a good childhood, but I haven’t let that hinder my dreams of making a difference. Like you, I would like nothing more than to see the Polis project become something so much more than what I could have ever have dreamed of. Based on what I have seen of your work, Miss Griffin, I think that you are absolutely on the right track to achieving that dream. I would really like to be a part of that process.”

They kept a grip on each others’ hands and kept eye contact.

“I think we could find a way to work together, Miss Woods,” Clarke stated, a small smile creeping onto her face.

“That’s really good to hear, Miss Griffin. But please, call me Lexa. I’d like for you to learn more about me, and it would be weird if you called me Miss Woods all the time.”

Clarke half-heartedly rolled her eyes. “Very well, Lexa. And please call me Clarke. If I’m gonna be getting to know you better, you probably should know my coffee order.”

Lexa smiled wider, squeezing Clarke’s hand subtly. “I think this sounds like the beginning of a great working relationship, Clarke.”

“Indeed it does, Lexa.”

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m toying with the idea of another chapter… I have plenty that I could flesh out, so I’m thinking that I will…  
> Hope you enjoyed it :)  
> -H


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned (a year later) to finish off this little fic for Clexa Week 2018! Presenting Day 3: At Work :)  
> (You may want to reread to recap. I needed to.)

Lexa paused as her hand went to open her car door. It had become something of a habit every morning she arrived at Clarke’s house. She gave herself a brief moment to collect her thoughts – the ones that had been driving her crazy – and pushed them to the far reaches of her mind.

Over the last three weeks since they had agreed to work together again, Lexa had realised a few things about Clarke Griffin, things that she would never have thought back in high school or college.

Things were different now.

Lexa grabbed the extra takeaway cup of coffee from its holder and smiled to herself. Clarke certainly had some nice coffee in her kitchen, but Lexa still brought her the first cup of the morning. She secretly looked forward to the small curl of Clarke’s lips when Lexa handed her the cup. It was a great way to start the day.

That was one thing.

The second thing was Raven Reyes. Lexa still wasn’t one hundred percent certain that they weren’t together. They acted like a couple and even though Clarke had only mentioned her a few times, it had been with great affection. Raven seemed to make a point of saying goodbye to Clarke every morning by kissing her cheek, very close to her mouth and hugging her. Clarke was always smiling after that.

Lexa also ignored how her stomach would clench when she saw that smile.

The third thing was that Clarke was as normal as Lexa. She wore glasses like Lexa, even though both of them wore their contacts frequently. She had sweaters that were too big for her, which Lexa sometimes saw in the mornings when Clarke hadn’t got dressed yet because she’d been running around after Aden.

She liked to have a ten-minute power nap after lunch.

She hummed frequently.

Her mind was brilliant.

Her son was adorable.

She doodled all the time, over all her notes. Her doodles were artful masterpieces, in Lexa’s opinion. Who the hell doodled that well?

Overall, though, the most important thing that Lexa learned about Clarke was that she was possibly one of the most genuine people that Lexa had ever met. When she said something, she meant it. When she did something, it was with purpose.

All of these wonderful things that Lexa had learned about Clarke over the last three weeks had unfortunately resulted in an unfortunate realisation.

Lexa liked Clarke.

And that was just…not good.

Sighing, she stepped up to the front door and knocked twice with her free hand, as she always did. She didn’t have to wait long before the door opened and Raven stood in front of her, unimpressed.

“Good morning, Raven.” Lexa had found that politeness was the best plan of action regarding Clarke’s…friend?

“Back again, huh?” Raven baited.

“Clarke and I have a lot of work to do.”

“I’m sure.”

Lexa tilted her head. Raven hardly had any reason to be jealous of her, yet a lot of her comments towards Lexa suggested just that. If anything, Lexa was the one who was jealous.

But that didn’t matter. Because liking Clarke was simply an inconvenience.

“Morning, Lexa,” Clarke called, descending the stairs and heading for the kitchen. “Go through, I’ll just be a few minutes.”

“Will do.”

Lexa squeezed between Raven and the door, quietly breathing a sigh of relief as she escaped to the comfort of her and Clarke’s makeshift office. She put her briefcase down on her side of the table and began methodically unpacking her folders and notes in preparation for the work day ahead.

She felt a small finger poke her thigh.

“Little boys who poke busy women often find that they lose their fingers,” she murmured teasingly, not looking down at Aden.

The little boy gasped and quickly retracted his finger.

“Good morning, Aden.”

“Good morning, Commander!” he squeaked in reply, standing up straight.

The previous Saturday, Clarke had brought Aden with her to Polis. He’d seen her in her Commander routine with the other kids and wanted nothing more than for her to train him. It had become something of a game between them, which Lexa was surprised that Clarke allowed.

“Have you had you breakfast this morning?” Lexa asked, folding her hands behind her back in her usual Commander stance.

“Yes! And I ate it all up!” He opened his mouth wide to show her.

“Very good. We’ll start off slow this morning. To the end of the garden and back,” she directed. “Twice.”

“Okee dokee!” He sped off, almost colliding with his mother in the doorway.

“Wait until you get outside, monster!” she called after him. She raised an accusatory eyebrow at her co-worker. “You couldn’t have told him that?”

“He ran out before I could!” Lexa protested, handing Clarke her coffee.

“Yum,” Clarke replied. “Thanks.” She sat down and grabbed one of Lexa’s folders. “I should thank you. I’ve had absolutely no trouble getting him to bed this week. He’s absolutely exhausted with all the quests you set for him.”

Lexa smiled and sat down herself. “He’s delightful. It really is no trouble.”

“You’re so great with kids, you know that? Not just with mine, but the kids at Polis absolutely idolise you.”

“They fear me,” Lexa scoffed. “Well, at least they think they fear me.”

“Stop selling yourself so short,” Clarke countered. “Aden wants to be just like you.”

Lexa blinked in surprise. “H-He does?”

“Yep. Told me last night.” Clarke smirked and took another sip of coffee. “It seems I may have to keep you around, Woods.”

She tried to ignore how her heartrate picked up at the thought of being in Clarke’s life once their project was completed. And in a more social capacity too.

She cleared her throat. “Well, if you deem me worthy to spend time with Aden and yourself, then I shall gladly oblige.”

Clarke’s cheeks tinted pink and it made Lexa smile. With enough distractions for the morning, they got down to work. 

* * *

Clarke worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she glanced between the reports and plans in front of her. She and Lexa had worked damn hard to get everything together for one final presentation to the mayor. On the side, she’d also been going through Anya’s files and found everything she needed to call Jaha out on his betrayal. She had an emailed confession from Marcus too, just in case Jaha decided that he wanted to play dirty.

She was nervous, though. As much of a dick as the mayor was, he still had a lot of clout in the community and she was toying with the fear of what exposing him would do to their Polis project.

“Clarke.”

“Hmmm?” She looked up at Lexa, who was smiling at her with a hint of concern.

Lexa opened her mouth, but then closed it again. Clarke knew her well enough to see the battle going on behind her carefully guarded eyes. Whatever Lexa really wanted to say, she probably wasn’t going to say it.

Things had changed so drastically between them, and Clarke knew that it was because they were getting to know the real Clarke and Lexa. And the real Clarke and Lexa made a pretty badass team.

“Would you like some tuna salad for lunch?” Lexa eventually asked.

Clarke tried not to smile too widely. She was deciphering all the little finer points of Lexa Woods and more often than not, she’d lately been proven correct when predicting what her colleague would do.

“That sounds great, Lex. Thanks.”

“No problem. Coffee or lemonade?”

“Oooh, lemonade would be great.”

Lexa smiled and stood up from her side of the desk. “I won’t be long.”

Clarke couldn’t help but watch her as she walked out of the office. It had taken over a week, but Lexa had started to feel comfortable enough around Clarke to dress down from her usual business suits.

_Not that her business suits don’t look great on her._

Clarke shook her head of the errant thought.

Only…they weren’t quite as errant as she would like. Lexa was super attractive. It was nearly impossible to ignore how gorgeous she actually was. As soon as they’d started over, it was like Clarke was meeting a new Lexa.

And new Lexa was hot.

New Lexa was adorable and kind and _funny_ – Clarke would have befriended her in high school just for her wonderfully dry sense of humour had she known it even existed.

She still got some cameos of the old Lexa – her passion for Polis and their project, her dedication, her diligence and her, frankly, incredible brain.

She challenged Clarke and complemented her all at the same time. Where she would go off on tangents, Lexa would bring them back to point. Where Clarke would rework the same plan fifty times, Lexa would say in that no-nonsense voice that it couldn’t possibly be any better and wasting further time on it would be pointless.

Clarke sighed and dropped her pencil on the table as she rubbed her eyes. Then there was the cuteness overload that was the lethal combination of Lexa and Aden. Obviously, her son was totally obsessed with Lexa. He adored her, and listened to every word that came out of her mouth as though it was gospel.

For Clarke, that presented a problem. She could handle Lexa’s beauty. She’d dealt with unwanted attraction to people before. What she couldn’t find a way to deal with, was how so completely _amazing_ it was to see Aden with Lexa. Not only was Lexa the softest and cuddliest teddy bear with her son, but she was a total natural.

And Clarke found that hella sexy and made her feel warm all over.

She couldn’t help it.

But it was also a big problem because she hadn’t yet forgiven Lexa for what she’d done. It still pulsed in the back of her mind, rearing forward every few days, almost like she needed reminding that her family’s legacy was tainted.

She knew Lexa’s apology was genuine and while she hadn’t said that she was sorry again (mostly because Clarke had threatened bodily harm if she did), Clarke could see it in her gaze every so often. Whether Lexa had intentionally let her see that, she didn’t know.

“Hi, Momma.”

Clarke blinked out of thoughts and smiled. “Hey, monster. You finished your cartoon?”

“Yep,” he replied, popping the p. He looked around. “Where’s Lexa?”

“She’s making us some lunch.”

“Dat’s cool. Are we having burgers?”

Clarke chuckled. “No, we’re having tuna salad.”

Aden pulled a face, which made Clarke simply want to blow raspberries on his adorable cheeks. So she did. He squealed and tried to squirm out of her grasp.

“I love you, bud,” she whispered, holding him to her chest.

“Love you too, Momma.” Aden picked up the pencil she’d been doodling with. He pointed to a few designs she’d done that morning. “What’s dat say?”

Clarke felt her face go red. Lexa sat far enough away from her at the big table that she couldn’t see how many times Clarke had doodled her name.

“Just a name.”

“L…” he started sounding out.

“Okay, how about I go and get your paints and we can set up your easel in the corner? Then we can all work together?” Clarke suggested quickly.

“Okay.” He grinned widely and jumped off her lap, presumably heading to his art corner.

“Get a grip, Clarke,” she muttered to herself. She ripped the page off her pad and scrunched it up. “It’s just cos she’s hot, that’s it.”

Lexa was hot, there was no denying it, and sometimes, when they looked at each other (mostly when they were arguing), she could see Lexa’s eyes darken a bit and she’d had to physically take steps back before she did something stupid.

Like kiss her.

Or fuck her.

_Come on! That’s Lexa Woods you’re talking about._

Clarke rolled her eyes and went to the locked cabinet at the back of the study. While she wasn’t beneath a no-strings hook up, having hot, angry sex with Lexa did have an appeal.

“Jesus,” she muttered to herself. “Just stop it. Not gonna happen.”

Their history was way too complicated to even consider crossing that line with Lexa. It would be far too fucking messy and Clarke was so damn tired of messy.

She unlocked the cabinet and grabbed her father’s favourite brand of Scotch. She and her mother always had at least one bottle in the liquor cabinet as a way to remember the evenings when he’d sit in his office, proofreading accounts and documents, sipping on a glass. Clarke remembered curling up on one of the sofas and drawing countless pictures of him when she was younger. As she got older, her drawings morphed into her homework. She loved being in her dad’s office with him. When he’d died, it had taken her eight months to step foot inside it again.

“Hey.”

Clarke jumped, her grip on the bottle loosening. Luckily, Lexa’s crazy reflexes kicked in and she caught the bottle before it hit the floor.

“That’s some ninja shit right there,” Clarke chuckled in disbelief.

Lexa smiled and handed the bottle back to Clarke. “Martial arts training,” she explained simply. “That’s a great year. You have excellent taste.”

“Oh, it’s uh…”

Lexa’s eyes went wide in realisation. “My apologies, Clarke. I didn’t consider that.”

Clarke had to roll her eyes. “You’re fine, Lex. Seriously, you need to stop acting like anything that you say remotely unintentional is going to result in me biting your head off. I promise it won’t. I’m not that petty.” Lexa raised an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe I am a little petty. I _was_ , though. Not am. Past tense.” Clarke felt herself getting a bit flustered. “Point is, we’re friends and sometimes friends say things without thinking. There’s no need to stress about it and make it a bigger deal than it actually is.”

Lexa nodded slowly. “I think I understand.” She stepped back. “Lunch is served, m’lady.”

_Dammit._

When Lexa did sweet things like that, Clarke _really_ wanted to do something stupid. 

* * *

Lexa realised after about five minutes of not being able to concentrate that when Clarke absentmindedly hummed while she worked, she didn’t really mind. Previously, it had driven her insane. Or rather, she’d _let_ it drive her insane. She’d let many things about Clarke Griffin drive her insane and part of her couldn’t help but wonder if there was an underlying attraction during their entire school lives that she’d just conveniently ignored. So much about what had annoyed Lexa about Clarke had become endearing and cute. She looked forward to seeing Clarke’s nose scrunch up as she read something she liked. She delighted in seeing those cheeks tinted pink when she did something nice for Clarke. She loved watching her interact with her son, and couldn’t wait to hear their matching giggles.

She wasn’t annoyed by Clarke Griffin in the slightest. In fact – and it was something she was reluctant to admit – she liked Clarke a lot. A dangerous amount.

Lexa sighed quietly and did a final check of the numbers forecast she and Clarke had been working hard on that week. Kane had arranged a meeting with Mayor Jaha for the coming Monday and Lexa was equal parts excited and nervous.

She was excited because she knew that their proposal was good. They had done their research and the space that they had planned for the Polis relocation would re-energise the surrounding areas too.

She was nervous for Clarke, though. Maybe a little for herself, but mostly for Clarke. She knew that Clarke wanted answers. She wanted Jaha to make her understand why he had betrayed her parents, people he had considered friends. It had taken her a while, but after two weeks of building their friendship, Clarke had started venting at Lexa, which she hadn’t minded. She wanted to do anything she could to help Clarke get her retribution.

And yes, it was because she felt absolutely horrible about how Clarke had found out about the embezzling, and Lexa’s accusation.

She was determined to make up for her serious lack of judgement. She’d been young, stupid and cocky in high school and too stubborn to change her thinking in college. Clarke had been through so much and Lexa had done nothing but antagonise her and make things worse. She’d based all her anger and judgement on an idea of Clarke that she had perpetuated herself.

She’d created the Clarke she didn’t like. If she’d just gotten her head out of her ass, she would have seen that Clarke Griffin was beautiful and wealthy, but also just a normal high school kid.

“What’s got you so deep in thought?” Clarke’s voice brought her back to the present.

“Oh, um, I’m just looking back on my high school and college years and realising that I didn’t even hate you. I hated – or strongly disliked – this idea that I’d created of you.” Lexa sighed and looked at Clarke. “I was so stubborn. I wanted to hate you. You had everything I didn’t.”

Clarke looked like she wanted to jump in, but she held her tongue.

Lexa continued, “You obviously have realised that I didn’t have the best childhood. I spent most of my elementary school years trying to pretend that I was okay when I really wasn’t. Before I found Polis, I was lost. I was lost and angry. Every day I would see kids getting dropped off at school by their parents. I took the bus or sometimes walked. I would see kids that had packed lunches for them. I was lucky if I got breakfast before school and then only ate again when I got back to whichever home I was in. I grew to resent those people. They hadn’t done anything wrong, but I got a massive chip on my shoulder and I didn’t even realise that I’d been such a bitch until now. You weren’t first person that I treated badly, Clarke, but you were the first to fight back and I relished the challenge. It was like I had an active participant in my rage, someone that I could target with all my latent resentment.” She took a breath. “I have not apologised for how I treated you in high school, Clarke, and I would like to do so now, please?”

Clarke swallowed. “Lexa, I never realised-“ her voice faltered and she cut herself off, looking down.

“Clarke, I have a lot of respect for you, but please don’t pity me. I think you know how I feel about that.”

“Okay, I won’t. I accept your apology, Lexa. We were both pretty stupid back then, always trying to one-up the other.”

“And it doesn’t help that we’re both stupidly stubborn,” Lexa added.

“Speak for yourself,” Clarke chimed in with a smile.

“I do, but even a mole could see your stubbornness.”

Clarke frowned.

“Because moles are blind?” Lexa explained, unsure if that was why Clarke was looking confused.

“Oh my God, are you just the fountain of weird knowledge or something?”

Lexa smiled. “Well, you spend hours and hours with kids every weekend and their interesting facts seep into your mind. You’ll see.”

“Yeah? Does that mean you’re agreeing to let me help with the art programme?”

“I would never have denied you the pleasure, Clarke. Nor would I have denied the kids the pleasure of your skill.”

Clarke’s cheeks flushed and Lexa quickly looked down at her work. It was ridiculous what that simple response did to her.

“Thanks, Lex.”

“You’re most welcome.” She glanced at her watch. “I, uh, I should go. It’s late.”

Clarke looked at her phone and hummed her agreement. “Is it weird that we always lose track of time working?”

“Well,” Lexa said, standing up and gathering her papers, “I suppose it would depend. I don’t find it weird. I think we have a good work dynamic and if we lose track of time, that means we’re enjoying it, right?”

“True. A far cry from the way we worked together in the beginning.”

Lexa cringed. “I prefer not to remind myself of how idiotically judgemental I was being.”

“Relax, Commander,” Clarke teased. “Regardless of what happened in the past, we’ve achieved a lot together. Because of us, Polis has a real chance to have a positive impact on this city. Well, mostly you, but still.”

“No, Clarke. This was a team effort all the way. It’s your name that has generated the political interest.”

Clarke raised an eyebrow. “And your name has the support of Polis behind it. Don’t sell yourself short, Lexa. You’re an incredible woman who has overcome every obstacle placed in her path to achieve a truly wonderful dream. There would be no Polis without you.”

Lexa could feel her cheeks getting warm and she averted her gaze. She wanted to rebuke what Clarke had said, argue and praise Indra, Lincoln and all the others instead, but she had never accepted any thanks for the work she’d done at Polis, what she still continued to do. She did feel obligated to do everything she could to better the lives of the people who relied on places like Polis. It had pretty much saved her life, steered her away from a dark path. She was forever grateful to Indra for stubbornly sticking with her and always being there.

“Thank you, Clarke,” she said softly. “That means a great deal.”

“Good. I’m glad.” She stood up as well and looked at Lexa.

“Did you need something?” Lexa asked.

“Stay for dinner?” she blurted out.

Lexa’s eyes widened and Clarke facepalmed herself.

“Once more, with feeling,” she muttered. “Lexa, would you like to stay for dinner?”

“Oh, um…” Lexa was at a loss. Did friends do that? What would Raven think? _Actually, screw what Raven thinks._ “That sounds lovely, Clarke. Would Raven be okay with me joining?”

Clarke frowned. “Raven? Yeah, I guess. Why?”

“Uh, I just assumed…”

“Which makes an ass out of you and me,” Clarke quipped. “Why does it matter what Raven-oh.” Her eyes went wide for a moment, but then she started laughing.

Lexa frowned. She wasn’t sure if this was a laughing with her or at her scenario.

“You think that me and Raven?” Clarke spluttered, giggling hysterically.

“Everything all right in here?” an unfamiliar voice asked at the door.

Lexa whirled around and gulped.

Abby Griffin. Shit.

In the weeks that she’d been coming to the house, they’d never been there at the same time. She’d been dreading the moment coming face-to-face with the woman she had, in her mind, pinned as the guiltiest party in the whole embezzling scandal.

“Uh, uh, D-Doctor Griffin. Hi, I’m Lexa. Lexa Woods. Well, not Lexa Lexa Woods. Just Lexa Woods.” She held out her hand and hoped that the shaking was only in her mind.

“Lexa Lexa Woods, huh?” Abby asked, arching her eyebrow in a mirror image of her daughter. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“And I promise that I am not the same horrible person that I was in high school. Or college,” Lexa added. “Uh, I’m really doing a bad job at making a good impression.”

Abby chuckled then, causing some of Lexa’s tension to release. “She’s exactly how you described her, Clarke.”

_Wait, Clarke speaks to her mother about me?_

“She’s so cute, right?”

_Cute? Clarke thinks I’m cute._

_Wait, cute like her son or cute like…cute?_

“She thought that Raven and I were together,” Clarke added.

“Oh, thank god that ship sailed in high school.”

“Wh-what?” Lexa stammered. She was so confused.

“Raven and I were together in high school for most of junior year.” Clarke moved around the table to stand next to her mother. “How did you not know that? Your girlfriend teased us relentlessly about it.”

Lexa winced at the mention of her ex. Costia had been an on-again-off-again girlfriend since they were about thirteen. About four months ago, she’d met someone and they’d called off their messed up relationship for good. She hadn’t really discouraged Lexa’s Commander persona.

“I guess my focus was elsewhere,” she mumbled. “So you’re not together?”

Abby wiggled her eyebrows and exited the room, leaving Clarke and Lexa standing in front of one another.

“Raven is my best friend. We’ve, uh, been through a lot together.”

Lexa nodded. She had no right to pry, but something told her that Raven and Clarke’s friendship ran deeper than just a high school fling.

“Maybe if you stay for dinner, I’ll tell you a bit more about it,” Clarke murmured.

“Clarke, I don’t expect you to tell me about your life. We’re…friends. New friends, at that. I don’t expect to know everything about you.”

She got a wry grin in return. “Trust me, Lexa. There are skeletons in my closet that will never see the light of day.”

Lexa realised that she didn’t want Clarke to have skeletons. Someone with such a good heart shouldn’t have skeletons.

“If I may, Clarke.” Lexa stepped a little closer. “I know we have a long way to go and I honestly hope that our friendship will continue after Polis has been relocated. I know that I have to do a lot to earn your trust and I am willing to do that. My wish is that one day you will want to tell me about those skeletons because as much as I have hurt you over the years, I want to be someone you can rely on.” She took a breath. “Obviously, I realise that you already have people to talk to, but if you did want or need a fresh perspective then I’m here.”

Lexa focussed on her fingers as the silence stretched between them. Eventually she saw Clarke moving closer and her breath hitched when two fingers on the bottom of her chin forced her to lift her head.

“That means a lot to me, Lexa. I’m not ready, not yet, but when I am, if I am, I’ll let you know.”

Lexa just nodded.

“Why do you care about Raven and me not being together?”

She’d hoped that Clarke had forgotten that.

“Uh, well…”

“Yes?” Clarke prompted when Lexa trailed off.

Lexa’s eyes darted everywhere. She was so embarrassed and she felt uncomfortable under Clarke’s scrutiny. She still hadn’t let go of her chin.

“Lexa.”

“Clarke?”

“Why do you care about Raven and me not being together?”

_Because I like you._

_Because I want to be with you._

_But I can’t. You scare me, Clarke, and I don’t want to be half-assed for you. You deserve someone who knows what they want, who is comfortable with themselves. I’m not comfortable with what I did and how I treated you._

She couldn’t say any of that so she surrendered to Clarke’s searching gaze and they stared at each other for almost a full minute. Lexa tried to say what she couldn’t with her eyes instead of her mouth. Slowly lifting a hand, Lexa wrapped her fingers around Clarke’s wrist and gently tugged her away from her chin.

“Goodbye, Clarke. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Clarke blinked in surprise, like she’d been in a trance. “You’re not staying for dinner?”

“I-“ She’d been about to lie, saying something about previous plans, but Clarke would have seen through that. “I think that I need to be on my own right now,” she said instead, the ironic double meaning not lost on her.

“Lexa, don’t go,” Clarke said, stepping in her way. “Just answer my question, please.”

“You already know the answer, Clarke,” she whispered, turning and picking up her bag.

“Then why can’t you stay?”

Lexa wanted to tell her, but she was a coward. She hated being vulnerable and even though she’d lowered her guard for Clarke already, opening her heart up was a different thing.

“I just can’t.”

“That’s a bullshit answer, Lexa. And you’re not leaving until I get a real one.”

Lexa sighed. “Clarke…”

“Oh, no. You don’t get to be a martyr now. We’ve been doing really well and I am not going to let you fuck it up because you think you have to pay penance or some shit. That’s ridiculous, Lexa.”

“How is it ridiculous?” Lexa asked, dropping her bag back onto the table. “I made your life hell, Clarke? Why should I not have to pay for that?”

“Firstly, don’t give yourself all the credit. My life wasn’t great. Secondly, it’s in the past! It already happened! Do you really think that I would have let you get this close to me, to _my son_ if I hadn’t moved past it?”

Lexa blinked, the fight leaving her. “You…You’ve moved past it?”

“Yes!” Clarke said in exasperation, throwing her hands up. “Where have you been for the last three weeks?”

“But…”

“No buts. Answer my question,” Clarke demanded. “Now.”

Lexa exhaled slowly. “You are an amazing woman, Clarke. Everything you do is fuelled with a burning passion that I find inspiring. You’re funny, smart, creative and a great mom.”

“Speed it up, Woods. I know all this.” Clarke was looking at her expectantly and Lexa should have realised that Clarke had picked up on her feelings a while ago.

She didn’t miss anything.

And to be fair, Clarke had a very valid point – she would never have Lexa get close to Aden if she thought that she wasn’t genuine.

“Am I gonna have to hold your hand?” Clarke asked.

Lexa couldn’t help the smirk that curled onto her face. “Mockery is not the product of a strong mind, Clarke. If you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask.”

Clarke huffed out a laugh. “You’re such an ass.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I really shouldn’t be. It’s your most redeeming quality.”

Lexa grinned at the banter. It felt refreshing when they were teasing each other instead of yelling at each other.

“I do have a great ass,” she stated, checking her nails nonchalantly.

“Hmmm. Raven’s got a pretty good ass.”

Lexa’s eyes shot up to Clarke, who was smirking with an eyebrow raised. She was challenging her.

“I’m more partial to blondes so I couldn’t really comment.”

Costia was a brunette, which Lexa was sure Clarke knew, but if they were going to dance, she could dance.

“Are we gonna be stubborn about this too?” Clarke asked. “Are you gonna waste more time?”

_Hmmm. She has a point._

“Either admit it, or I’ll make you.”

Lexa had to bite back a moan at the image of a dominant Clarke in her head. It was far too easy to picture it.

“Three seconds, Lexa.”

_So this is it? Come clean. Bare your soul._

“Three…”

_You can do it. For Clarke, you can do it._

“Two…”

_Just suck it up, Commander! Jesus._

“One.”

Lexa moved into Clarke’s personal space and cupped her face, her thumbs brushing those red cheeks. Her lips hovered millimetres from Clarke’s.

Clarke smiled. “Finally,” she whispered, which gave Lexa enough permission to lean in and capture that smile between her own lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter will be posted at the end of the week, on Free Day, along with a few other wee drabbles :)

**Author's Note:**

> Halfway-ish mark. Mostly because I have work in the morning and I can’t write anymore…  
> Hope to post the conclusion tomorrow, as well as Day 2 :)  
> -H


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